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Xena The Owl
Deciding we wanted to have a great bond with our girl Joe
and I took Xena everywhere. We wanted people to touch her
and for Xena to grow up knowing we are her flock and food
source. We also wanted Xena to be as comfortable and wellrounded
as possible living in captivity for her entire life. Initially
we felt guilty knowing she would never experience freedom or
the joy of being wild. So we were determined to create a happy,
loving environment for our non-releasable baby. And so it began,
we dedicated ourselves to accommodating Xena’s needs and
honoring her natural instincts.
First we turned the large front porch that is attached to our
house into a Flight Cage. We changed the screening to Avian
Raptor Screening, added a drain so we could power wash the
space and put up perches and a swing to emulate how trees
in the wild sway and move with the breeze. This taught Xena
balance which was an important lesson that she needed to learn.
Little Xena stayed in the house in a play pen for months. Every
little new thing she learned was so exciting. Then one day she
flew out of her playpen. We decided to start putting her in her
Flight Cage for a few hours at a time every day. We worked
with her with gloves and balls. Teaching her to catch things in flight and to chase anything that moved, which pretty much came
naturally to Xena, but provided tons of fun for us. Xena was growing quickly and we soon learned of her love for stealing and
toilet paper.
Early on we took Xena for walks every day in the woods. She was ok with her anklets and jesses (this is basically a tether to
keep her on glove.) We also allow Xena to be inside the house if she wants. Although sometimes she makes me crazy with her
playful personality, often making it difficult to get anything done, however bearing witness to her theft of shoes, toilet paper rolls,
money and anything else she can get her talons on quite honestly, is so worth it.
A Star is born..